With the Milwaukee Bucks now 1-3 following three-straight losses — one to the Brooklyn Nets themselves — questions are beginning to swirl about superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future with the franchise.
The Bucks will of course have time to make up ground on the Eastern Conference, but one report has already surfaced that the Greek Freak could be looking to greener pastures already: one being Brooklyn.
There’s plenty of reasons why a Nets and Bucks deal would be an uphill battle, starting with Antetokounmpo’s deal and Brooklyn’s newly-started rebuild. But we’ll at least examine the logistics behind what a trade would look like:
For starters, there’s countless deals better than this one that Milwaukee could fetch on the open market. But Antetokounmpo is one of a few players in the league with a no-trade clause, so that does put Brooklyn in play, if he so desires.
Nic Claxton and Cam Johnson are both the team’s best assets and offer similar salary to Antetokounmpo, so in the deal they go.
We’ve not yet seen a deal of this magnitude — a former MVP who’s signed on through the 2027-28 season. We’ve seen as many as four picks dealt for players like Mikal Bridges, so Antetokounmpo’s value may not even be reachable, as the present moment.
Still, four unprotected firsts — the last coming in 2031 — and three swaps can certainly close the gap some.
Our mock trade did its best, but overall, a real-life deal doesn’t make much sense. Even if Brooklyn acquired Antetokounmpo, its roster likely wouldn’t be good enough to make a splash in the East. And the Bucks could likely do better to add young up-and-coming talent than the Nets’ pieces, even from Miami.
Want to join the discussion? Like Nets on SI on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Nets news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.
The Phoenix Suns take on the Los Angeles Clippers at Intuit Dome tonight at 10:30 p.m. ET. With former league MVP’s on both sides of the ball in Kevin Durant
Bronny James checked off a big box on his NBA bucket list Wednesday night, scoring his first career basket in the Los Angeles Lakers' 134–110 loss to the Clev
Lonnie Walker is coming off a year where he appeared in 58 games for the Brooklyn Nets.The former Miami star finished the season with averages of 9.7 points, 2.
The NBA revealed their court designs for the Emirates NBA Cup, and I’ve got to say, most of these are just ... fine. Some of the designs are pretty fun, bu